The Tracey Fragments

Lynne Perras teaches communication arts at the University of Calgary.

As this disturbing novel opens, the protagonist, 15-year-old Tracey
Berkowitz, is on a bus. As she searches for her missing younger brother,
she reveals the harassment, abuse, and sexual assault that have been a
part of her life at school and at home. Her self-hatred is revealed as
she moves to third-person narration, referring to herself as an
“It,” an outcast tormented by her peers at school and alienated from
her maladjusted parents (even her relationship with her psychiatrist is
adversarial). Her anger is conveyed through foul language, physical
rages, and suicidal thoughts. Her lengthy, circular ride on the bus
comes to symbolize her wish to escape and, at the same time, the
impossibility of escape.

The Tracey Fragments is a powerful and moving commentary on today’s
youth. The author has a knack for creating complex and memorable
characters. What the novel lacks is a sense of balance; the interjection
of some comic relief would have made for a welcome break from the
unrelenting sense of despair.